Chapter 11 - The Shadow in the Mirror
In the pitch black of the bank basement, Mark didn't move. He lowered his breathing, listening.
Click.
The soft sound of a safety being flipped off, five feet behind him.
"You always were the good son, Mark," a voice echoed through the dark.
It was Sam.
Mark slowly put the hard drive into his pocket. "You followed me."
"You took my car, idiot. You think I don't put a GPS tracker on my own unit?" Her voice sounded different. Shaky, wet around the edges, like she’d been crying or drinking. Or both.
"John’s dead," Mark said quietly into the dark.
"I know."
"He said you didn't sell us out."
Silence held for three long seconds. The air was thick enough to chew.
"He lied to protect you," Sam whispered. A flashlight beam clicked on, blinding Mark instantly. Behind the bright white glare, Sam was standing with her weapon pointed straight at his center mass. "He lied because he couldn't face the fact that his little brother was the only clean thing left in this damn county."
"Put the gun down, Sam."
"I can't, Mark," she said, her voice dropping to a harsh rasp. "Because if I put it down, they kill my brother."
Her eyes filled, but the gun stayed level.
"They made me feed them patrol routes and case numbers. I never agreed to murder anyone. I kept telling myself that mattered."
Mark’s expression hardened.
"It mattered to you."
Sam flinched.
May you like
"And unlike you," she whispered, "I thought keeping my family alive was still worth something."
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